No More Zeroes At Central and South?

HINSDALE, IL — Officials from Hinsdale Central and South high schools presented a proposed grading system last week that they said would introduce more accountability.

But one school board member feared the system would create a dependency among students.

Now, Hinsdale High School District 86 has 30 different grading scales across its two high schools. Officials want to create a uniform system that applies to every class.

At the board's meeting Thursday, a committee of teachers and administrators proposed a traditional grading scale. One major difference is when students fail to take tests or complete major assignments. In such cases, students would receive an ME, or "missing and essential," which amounts to 50 percent, rather than a zero. Those students cannot pass the class until they finish the missing work.

"It is a level of accountability we do not have in our system now," said Chris Covino, assistant superintendent for academics. The ME grade communicates to everyone involved "that the student has failed to do something that is so imperative for the course that the student cannot move on without doing it. We feel that it is one of the most actionable things we can do with this grading scale."

Traditionally, he said, schools simply put in a zero and move on when a student fails to complete work.

"By putting a zero in the gradebook, we can never know whether the student is ready for the next unit or the next course," Covino said.

School board member Tamakia Edwards questioned the creation of the ME grade.

"Are we creating a level of dependency for our students?" she asked. "What I mean by that is for those students who choose and pursue a collegiate academic career beyond high school, are they thinking this is the way evaluations are supposed to occur? When it doesn't occur in a college setting, especially in a rigorous academic program, are we setting them up for failure?"

Edwards said students should be encouraged to work with their teachers to succeed.

"With that process, there is an assessment of success and failure. It's something we have to learn in life," he said.

Other board members presented scenarios where they believed students could game the system. Covino responded that members of the committee of teachers and administrators are still working on some details.

South Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp said the committee hunted for research on grading issues and, in particular, research that could back the district's existing system.

"There isn't research that says what we're doing is correct, even if it feels comfortable," she said.

When it comes to grades, Pokorny Lyp said, many base their preferences on how they were graded as children.

"I remind you of the need to challenge your thinking," she said.

As for so many grading scales in one district, Superintendent Tammy Prentiss said, "It was not the teachers' intent to go off and have 30. It just happened over time when you do not create the time and space to look at current research and current practices."

The school board made no decisions on the issue.